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• Leipzig have 'everything you would want' – Celtic boss Rodgers

  Celtic may be four points clear of RB Leipzig in the Champions League, but Brendan Rodgers is not underestimating the challenge that his side face on Tuesday.

  The Hoops welcome Leipzig to Celtic Park on matchday four, for what will be the fifth meeting between the sides.

  Leipzig have won three of the previous four encounters, with Celtic winning 2-1 in a Europa League match in November 2018.

  While Leipzig, who are second in the Bundesliga, have lost all of their Champions League matches this term, Celtic bounced back from their heavy defeat to Borussia Dortmund by holding Atalanta to a 0-0 draw in their last European outing.

  Rodgers' team come into Tuesday's clash on the back of a resounding 6-0 defeat of Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership, but Rodgers knows his side are in for a stern test.

  "Leipzig are no different to Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta," said Rodgers. "A top team. They have everything you would want - speed, power, technique.

  "It's a brilliant challenge for us."

  After conceding seven goals against Dortmund on MD2, Rodgers explained Celtic knew they had to step up.

  "You always have to learn and be better and we were against Atalanta, a really outstanding team," said Rodgers, who were perhaps fortunate not to concede against the Serie A side, given they conceded 2.4 expected goals (xG).

  "We'll look to bring our energy to the game but we also know we'll have to defend for good periods of the game, play with concentration and commitment like we did against Atalanta," he said.

  "There will be moments when we press with aggression and moments where we have to be controlled. Top teams will push you back and you have to have resilience."

  After a run of 12 home games without a win at Celtic Park in the Champions League between 2013 and 2023 (D3 L9), Celtic have won their last two home games. They last had three wins in a row back in November 2007 under manager Gordon Strachan.

  "Home games are very important at this level and when you want the result the supporters can bring you closer to that," said Rodgers.

  "What the noise generates here is absolutely incredible.

  "We will also need that bit of patience as well because we have to be educated in our pressure.

  "We've got ourselves into a really good position after three games and now we have another opportunity to show we can pick up a result against a top team."

• Standard set for Clement as Rangers tee up Old Firm final clash

  Phillipe Clement said Rangers' performance against Motherwell must serve as a reference for the rest of their season after they teed up a Scottish League Cup final clash with Celtic.

  Rangers fought back for a 2-1 victory on Sunday, with Cyriel Dessers and Nedim Bajrami on target one day after Celtic trounced Aberdeen 6-0 in the first semi-final.

  Dessers converted Connor Barron's cross to level things up in the 49th minute, then Bajrami saw his strike deflect home nine minutes from time to ease the pressure on Clement.

  The Gers have endured a difficult Premiership season to date and trail rivals Celtic, who they will face in the League Cup final on December 15, by nine points in the table.

  Clement, however, believes they can achieve big things if they replicate the performance they produced at Hampden Park on a regular basis.

  "We can go where we want to be, which is the final," he told Premier Sports.

  "We had that amazing feeling together with the fans last season and we can battle for that again. 

  "This needs to be also a reference game for this squad, for this new squad.

  "To do what we've been doing a lot last season, to dig in and in every situation to keep our belief, to keep on going, to keep on fighting and to break the wall if we go behind... 

  "This can be a massive game at the end of the season to have this one as a reference. I want to see, every three days, this mentality."

• Rodgers delighted as Celtic rout Aberdeen in semi-final

  Celtic booked their place in the Scottish League Cup final after hammering Aberdeen 6-0 at Hampden Park on Saturday.

  The 21-time winners of the tournament were inspired by a Daizen Maeda hat-trick in a near-perfect performance against the Scottish Premiership's second-placed side.

  Manager Brendan Rodgers was delighted with the result and performance from his side.

  "It was a testament to our players and the demands they have. They play every week in big games. We have to manage this group through every game," he told Premier Sports.

  "It was up to us to decide the game and the players did that. They were brilliant today. We were more aggressive in the second half.

  "Aberdeen have had an excellent season, they will continue to work well I'm sure."

  The result was Aberdeen's first defeat in 17 matches in all competitions this season, with a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park last month the only time they had previously failed to win.

  Cameron Carter-Vickers got the scoring under way with a header 29 minutes in, before the brilliant Maeda sat down goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov to set up Kyogo Furuhashi for a second three minutes later.

  Maeda then got in on the act himself on 40 minutes before the game briefly descended into farce on the stroke of half-time, with Rodgers shown a yellow card for kicking away a ball that had gone out before slipping over.

  "To be fair, I was raging because we had given the ball away," he said.

  "I have my moments, like every manager. It was just the game, even though we were comfortable at 3-0.

  "It was a deserved yellow card. The speed of the ball [was the issue]. I just wanted to keep the tempo of the game."

  Celtic and Maeda picked up where they left off in the second half to make it 4-0 in the 50th minute before Nicolas Kuhn hammered in a fifth on the hour.

  The rout was complete when Maeda wrapped up his hat-trick as he finished off a flowing attacking move with five minutes to go.

  After the match, Rodgers continued to be effusive about his team, who will face either Rangers or Motherwell in the final.

  "An outstanding team performance. You come up against a team that has been so, so good. We knew it would be a challenge," he told BBC Scotland.

  "We had to bring our A-game and the players did that, in particular during the second half.

  "We were ruthless. We worked the ball really well to create the space and made good runs.

  "It's a beautiful pitch here at Hampden. It's perfect for the football we want to play."